Carkner signs AHL contract with Bridgeport

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers announced Tuesday that defenseman Matt Carkner has agreed to terms on a two-year American Hockey League contract.

Carkner, 34, played 19 games with the Sound Tigers last season, scoring two goals and adding an assist to go along with 38 penalty minutes. The New York Islanders loaned Carkner to the Sound Tigers on Feb. 16 after he started the year on injured reserve.

The 6-foot-5, 227-pound blueliner signed as a free agent with the Islanders on July 1, 2012. A native of Winchester, Ont., Carkner has played 237 games in the NHL with the Islanders, Ottawa and San Jose, recording four goals and 23 assists.

A second-round (No. 58 overall) selection of the Montreal Canadiens in the 1999 National Hockey League Entry Draft, Carkner has skated in 546 AHL games with Bridgeport, Binghamton, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Cleveland, totaling 34 goals and 107 assists for 141 points, along with 1,592 penalty minutes, over 14 professional seasons. Carkner won the AHL’s Yanick Dupré Memorial Award in 2007, presented to the man of the year for service to his local community.